After a Call of Duty release without a staple of the franchise, a campaign mode, this year’s installment promises to bring it back. With fan reception to the solo game mode lukewarm, Activision hopes that creating something fresh and exciting after a bit of a break will invigorate the game mode. Newly appointed president of Activision, Rob Kostich, spoke to Polygon about the campaign. According to Kostich, the new Call of Duty will feature “an entirely new campaign, a huge and expansive multiplayer world and some fun co-op gameplay.”
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 had no single-player campaign, instead electing to roll out the newest game mode, Blackout, as well as the traditional online multiplayer and Zombies. The exclusion didn’t exactly harm the franchise’s bottom line, but some players were understandably upset over the lack of narrative in the latest game, while others were indifferent, citing the recent games’ lackluster performance in that department.
One of the most memorable Call of Duty campaign moments occurred all the way back in Modern Warfare 2 when Lieutenant General Shepherd shot Ghost and Roach and proceeded to light them on fire with his evil villain cigar. While later entries in the series arguably had their moments, there was just something about the pure act of betrayal and jaw-dropping shock poured into that sequence. Let’s hope Activision can live up to their promise and once again leave us screaming at our television screen out of pure anger and anguish.
The announcement of the returning game mode, unfortunately, rides the coattails of the news that Activision Blizzard would be laying off hundreds of employees. Despite what looks like overall success from the company after a banner year, Activation Blizzard feels as though there are still untapped levels of success they can achieve. One can only wonder if a newly revamped campaign mode is part of that plan and if so, if it’s enough to justify laying off so many people.